Shipping cushion



Nov. 20, 1962 c. LINNELL 3,064,801

SHIPPING CUSHION Filed Oct. 7, 1960 FIG. 2

22 qnll INVENTOR. CLARK LINNELL ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,064,801SHIPPWG CUHQN Clark Linnell, Minneapolis, Minn, assignor to GeneralMills, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 7, 1960, Ser. No.61,305 4 Claims. (Cl. 20646) The present invention relates generally toprotective devices for shipping containers and more specifically to animproved cushion for protecting the corners of articles during shipmentin such containers.

In the shipping art devices are known for protecting articles againstshock or damage during shipment. A practice well known in the art hasbeen to construct such devices from cardboard or paperboard stock and toinsert them between the article to be shipped and the inside of theshipping container. While such devices afford a degree of protection,certain difliculties are encountered.

For example, such devices are frequently patterned from corrugatedcardboard or flat sheet stock and require further bending or formingprior to, or at the time of shipment. Additionally, such devices oftenrequire extraneous holding or clamping devices and care must be taken toassure their proper positioning in the container.

In view of the above, it is one object of the present invention toprovide an improved cushion of resilient foam material for a shippingcontainer.

A further object is to provide an improved resilient foam cushion for ashipping container which is simple in design, rugged in construction andinexpensive to manufacture.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved resilient foamcushion, the design of which substantially obviates the usual formingand bending normally required of devices known in the art.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved cornercushion for a shipping container which is substantially self-forminginto its desired cushion shape when placed in engagement with thearticle to be shipped in the container.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the followingspecification and the appended drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of the improved cushion;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view in partial section of a shipping containerutilizing the improved cushion in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken generally along and in the directionof line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of one corner of the containerof FIGURE 3 and;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the corner of the container shownin FIGURE 4.

The shipping cushion of the present invention is preferably formed of aresilient foam type material such as polyurethane and a particular formof its construction is shown in FIGURE 1. The cushion of FIGURE 1includes a substantially rectangular or cubic cushion block or body 12provided with a plurality of integral segments or quadrants 14. Whilethe segments 14 can be formed on the cushion in any number of ways inthe present instance they are formed by slots 16 and 18 which extendpartly into the block 12. The slots 16 and 18 are some what narrow inwidth, are positioned substantially normal to each other, and extendinto the block 12 to a depth approximating one half of its thickness.Thus, segments are formed on the block 12 to provide independentlycompressible cushioning surfaces. The utility 2 of these surfaces willbecome apparent further in the specification.

The cushion 10 while applicable to many uses is designed primarily foremployment in containers in the manner shown in FIGURE 2. The cushions10 are inserted in the container 20 between the inner -corner walls ofthe container and the outermost corner surfaces of the article 22contained therein. A plurality of the blocks 10 are utilized, one ineach corner of the container and maintain the article 22 in suspensionaway from the inner walls of the container. By appropriate selection ofthe strength, size and compressibility of the material compared to theweight of the article to be supported, shocks transmitted to thecontainer 20 are thus largely absorbed by the cushions 10 with minimumshock to the article 22.

As seen in FIGURES 3, 4, and 5, rectangular or square cornered objectssuch as the article 22 are substantially self-seating in the containerand engage at least one of the previously mentioned segments 14. To bemore specific, the container 20 is selected to provide desired clearancebetween its inside surfaces and the article it is to contain. Cornercushions are then selected which have dimensions adapted to place cutsor slots 16 and 18 in alignment with the article edges as shown in thedrawings. Therefore, when the article is placed in the container, thebottom Wall of each of its corners engages only the innermost uppersegment of each lowermost block and compresses or deforms it downwardlyand/ or to some extent inwardly to support the article at substantiallythe depth of the previously mentioned slots 16 and 18. In this position,the side surfaces 14a and 14b of the adjacent segments are then incontact with the side walls of the article corner, and corner surface ofthe outer corner segment engages the corner edge of the article.Therefore, any lateral shock is absorbed by the surfaces 14a, 14b, and140 of the segments. Once the article has been placed in the container20 additional corner cushions or blocks 10 are placed at its uppermostcorners and the cover 24 is put into place. The segments of theuppermost blocks then provide similar surfaces which likewise absorbshocks in the manner previously described.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawingsand is provided with four independently compressible or deformablesegments of similar shape and size, it should be pointed out thatadditional segments are feasible and that their relative size and shapedepends upon the utility to which they are applied. For example, incertain instances a larger cushion having any number of segments may berequired. This may be desirable where variations in tolerances exist ineither or both of the article and the container in which it is to beshipped. The segments may also be of an irregular shape to protectirregularly shaped articles and can be made independently of each otherand secured together to produce the desired results herein achieved.

Where a greater supporting effect is needed, as in the case of heavierarticles, the inner segment which provides such support may be madesubstantially larger than the remaining segments. As one example of thispossibility, a cushion of polyurethane foam, in the form of a cube 6inches on each side is provided with two perpendicular slots extendingdownwardly 3 /2 inches from the upper surface, said slots each beingspaced 3% inches from one side wall of the cube to provide a largecorner support segment 3% inches by 3 /2 inches, and three smaller sideand corner segments each 2 /2 by 2 /2 inches. Here the depth of cut isalso somewhat greater than half the vertical depth of the cube, whichalso helps provide a greater relative volume of the original foamcushion for compression and greater supporting effect under the articlecorner. 7 i

In the above specification I have presented a detailed description of myinvention together with some of the ways by which the invention can becarried out.

Now, therefore, I claim:

1. In a rectangular shipping container for a rectangular article to beshipped therein, the improvement consisting of a resilient foamcushioning means in said container between the container and thearticle, said cushioning means including a plurality of cushion blockswith one positioned between each inside corner of the container and thecorresponding outside corner of the article, said cushion blocks eachbeing provided with a plurality of substantially vertical slotsextending into said blocks to a depth equal to substantially one-halfthe thickness of said blocks, said slots dividing said block into aplurality of independently compressible segments, the article engagingand deforming at least one segment on each of said blocks, said segmentsadjacent said deformed segments each providing a cushioning surfacenormal to said deformed segments between the article and the inside ofthe container.

j 2. In a shipping container for an article to be shipped therein, thearticle having a plurality of corners thereon and outside dimensionsless than the interior of said container, the improvement comprising aresilient foam cushioning means consisting of a plurality of cushionblocks, one at each corner of the article between the article and thecontainer, each said block having at least four independentlycompressible segments thereon, said corners engaging and compressing atleast one segment on each of said blocks, each said block providingfirst, second and third cushioning surfaces in engagement with thecontainer, and fourth, fifth and sixth cushioning surfaces in engagementwith a corner of the article.

3. The device of claim 2 in which said fourth, fifth and sixthcushioning surfaces are substantially parallel to said first, second andthird cushioning surfaces, respectively.

4. The device of claim 2 in which each said compressible segment issubstantially cubical in shape and of sufficient strength to support thecorners of the article at substantially the midpoint of each said cubicsegment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

